FORT MYERS, Fla. – On the first day of spring training for the 2025 Boston Red Sox, Rafael Devers made one thing abundantly clear:

He does not want to cede third base. Full stop.

Even with the arrival of Gold Glover Alex Bregman on a three-year, $120 million contract and the overall infield alignment up in the air, Devers said he was surprised Red Sox manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow even broached the subject last Friday.

“Third base is my position,” Devers said, via translator Daveson Perez. “We had a conversation, I made it clear, kind of, what my desires were. … That’s my position and I’m not going to change on a whim like that.”

The superstar slugger prefers to use a translator for his lengthy answers, but he often provides shorter answers himself. He did so for the slew of clarifying questions peppered throughout his 14-minute session at Fenway South on Monday.

Asked how he would react if the Red Sox asked him to become the designated hitter, Devers said “No.”

So if the Red Sox asked, he wouldn’t do it? “No.”

What if they insist? “No.”

Isn’t it the team’s decision? “No.”

Would he play first base? “No.”

So, just third base? “Yes.”

Pressed to expand, he said, “I play third.”

Though this situation didn’t materialize from thin air – the Red Sox were linked to third basemen throughout the offseason, including Bregman and St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado – Devers explained he had a reason to feel secure in his role. He said that when he signed his franchise-record 10-year, $313.5 million extension in January 2023, the front office assured him he would continue playing third for a long time. The perceived about-face, this early into his contract, felt like a broken promise.

“That was definitely what was discussed when I signed,” Devers said. “I don’t know what caused the change, but I know that I’ve worked really hard on my defense throughout the years. I feel that last year I had a really good year. I still have a lot more to do but I definitely feel like last year was really, really good.”

Red Sox leadership wasn’t surprised by Devers’ reaction, but Cora didn’t seem too concerned.

“There’s a different leader here; Chaim (Bloom) is in St. Louis,” the manager said in his own session moments later. “Here, it’s not about Bregman or Devers or Cora. It’s for the Boston Red Sox. Whatever decision we make is going to be for the benefit of the team.”

The hot corner has belonged to Devers for most of the last decade. He’s played 951 of his 980 regular-season games there since his July ‘17 debut, and though he’s not the strongest defender at the position, he’s worked hard to improve. Cora maintained throughout last season that Devers’ defense was better than the metrics indicated, often praising him for making complex plays.

“He has a lot of pride, we know that,” Cora said. “He feels like he’s the third baseman, he’s going to work out as the third baseman, and we’re going to make decisions accordingly.”

The Red Sox have yet to decide if Bregman will play second or third – though sources tell the Boston Herald Cora strongly prefers the former Astros star for third – but there’s no debating that Bregman would be a defensive upgrade. He’s coming off a Gold Glove season in which he ranked in the 81st MLB percentile in Fielding Run Value and 91st percentile in Outs Above Average last year. Devers landed in the 18th and 8th percentiles, respectively.

For how adamant he was about wanting to stay at third, Devers didn’t veer into negative territory about his potential replacement. “I think he’s a great guy,” he said. “He hasn’t been here long but we’ve chatted, and yeah, he’s experienced, he knows what he’s doing, and he’s a great addition to our team.”

Yet if any shred of doubt remained about how strongly Devers feels about his job, his response to the topic of a trade erased it. He expressed no willingness to leave his base, but didn’t shut down the possibility of leaving the only franchise he’s ever known.

“That’s a tough answer to give. I haven’t given it much thought,” he said. “This team that drafted me, I’ve been here my entire career, I’m a Bostonian through and through, and I really haven’t asked myself that question. But I’m open to listening and hearing what they have to say moving forward. It’s not like I’m closed to those conversations.”

“I’m someone that, I believe in people’s word and I take it to heart,” he said. “Since the beginning I’ve known that this is a business. I know that each side is going to do what is best for them, what is most comfortable for them. I don’t think that was the right way to do business, but I’ve always known that this is a business.”

Devers’ tone wasn’t harsh, but he left no room for doubt about how he felt. Asked if he was frustrated or annoyed, he said, “No, I’m good.”

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